Thomas cooper john thomas



(No Model.)

T. O. J. THOMAS. GARVING PORK.

No. 436,024. Petented Sept. 9, 1890. t

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFI E.

THOMAS COOPER JOHN THOMAS, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

CARVlNG-FORK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 436,024, dated September 9, 1890. I

Application filed October 7, 1889' Serial No. 326,258. (No model.) Patented in England December 1383; 71 and in Germany Octoben t, 1889, No. 51,401.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THOMAS COOPER JOHN THOMAS, engineer, a subject of theQueen of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at 5 Carlton Road, Finsbury Park, in the county of Middlesex, England, have invented Improvements in Carving-Forks, (which havebeen pate'nted to me in Great Britain and Ireland, No. 17,675, dated December 4, 1888, and in Germany, No. 51,401, dated October 4, 1889,) of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a construction of carving-fork in which the guard is automatically opened and held in its open position when the fork is applied in the usual manner to hold meat to be carved. For this purpose I employa rod that extends lengthwise of the handle of the fork and is capable of endwise movement in relation thereto. This rod is arranged to hear at its forward end against an extension or lever-arm on the guard, which is hinged or jointed within a slot or recess in the fork tang or handle. The rear end of the rod is enlarged or provided with a knob adapted to be held by the carvers hand, the arrangement being such that when the prongs of the fork are forced into the meat to be carved the carvers hand will cause the rod to be forced endwise and to automatically raise the guardinto the open position. Means are provided for preventing the rod becoming accidentally disengaged from the forkhandle.

In the accompanying sheet of illustrative drawings, Figures 1 and 2 are'respectively a longitudinal vertical section and a plan of a carving-fork constructed according to this invention. Fig. 3 is a similar view to Fig. 1, illustrating a modified construction.

In Figs. 1 and 2, 1 is a fork-guard hinged or jointed to the fork tang or handle 2 in the usual manner. This guard is provided with an extension or lever arm 3, that extends into a recess 4.

5 is a rod capable of moving longitudinally within the handle 6, hereinafter called the inner handle. The forward end of this rod is arranged to act against the extension of lever-arm 3. To prevent disengagement of the rods from the inner handle 6, the rear end portion of the rod may be made of two diameters, as shown, the part of smaller diameter working through aperforated plate 7, fixed to the end of the inner handle 6 and serving 'as a stop to the part of the rod of larger diameter. To the rear end of the rod 5 is secured a knob or enlargement 8, that is furnished with a tubular outer handle 9, capable of sliding upon the inner handle 6.

1 1 are stops to limit the upward movement of the guard 1. When the carving-fork, constructed as described, is held by the outer handle and its prongs are introducedin the ordinary manner into meat to be carved, the rod 5 will beforced forward, and acting upon the extension or lever arm 3 will cause the guard 1 to rise into the attitude shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. WVhen the rod 5 is moved rearward, the guard will or may fall into its lowered or closed position by the action of gravity. To assist this action the guard may be weighted, as indicated in dotted lines at 10. In some cases the forward end of the rod 5 may be formed with a slot 11, as shown in Fig. 3, to receive the lever-arm 3. In this, construction a spring 12 may be employed for automatically returning the rod 5 to its rearward or normal position and the guard 1 into its closed attitude when the fork is not in use. This spring may be arranged within the inner handle 6, as shown in Fig. 8. The spring is arranged to bear at one end against the rear end of the tang 2 and at the other end to bear against a collar 12 on the rod 5, so that after it has been compressed by the rod 5 during carving and then released it will automatically move this rod into its rearward position and the guard 1 into its closed or lowered position, as shown.

Vhat I claim is 1. The combination, with a carving-fork, of a guard hinged or jointed thereto, a leverarm connected to said guard, and a rod that extends lengthwise of the fork, is capable of endwise movement in relation thereto, and is arranged to act'against said lever-arm when moved endwise, substantially as herein described, for the purpose set forth.

' 2. The combination, with acarving-fork, of

a guard hinged or jointed thereto, a lever-' arm connected to said guard, a rod arranged lengthwise of and within the fork-handle,capable of endwise movement in relation thereto and adapted to bear against said lever-arm, and an outer tubular handle arranged to move over the fork-handle, substantially as herein described, for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination, with a carving-fork, of a guard hinged or jointed thereto, a leverarm connected to said guard, a rod arranged lengthwise of the fork, capable of endwise movement in relation thereto, and formed at its forward end to engage said lever-arm, a spring adapted to force said rod in a rearward direction and lower said guard, and an outer handle secured to said rod, substantially as herein described, for the purpose set forth.

l. The combination,with a carving-fork, of a guard 1, hinged or jointed thereto and formed with a lever-arm 3, a rod 5, arranged to slide 20 THOMAS COOPER JOHN THOMAS.

Witnesses:

FRED DAHUE, 19 Change Alley, London, Notarys Clerk.

REGINALD RIDGWAY, 19 Change Alley, London, Art'iclerl Clerk. 

